


Until The...

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: The Space Between the First and Last Breath [9]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alcoholic Booker | Sebastien le Livre, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, M/M, Missing Scene, Nicky | Nicolò di Genova Needs a Hug, Protectiveness, its okay, until the end is closer then they think, yes the betrayal is coming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26974345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: The realization that there is another immortal and the threat hanging over their heads...well it makes Nicky feel his age.Or the boys have a moment while waiting for Andy to arrive.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Space Between the First and Last Breath [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947598
Comments: 5
Kudos: 127





	Until The...

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Struggling

Nicolò wandered aimlessly among the tombstones that marked the Sanctuary, his hand drifting along their crumbling shapes, a silent prayer whispered in his head with each one. It was late, far too late for him to be out here like a ghost. He knew Joe was not fond of his fascination, his tendency to slip out of the Sanctuary’s doors and disappear for hours at a time. Nicolò was not inconsiderate, he remained easily within sight by moving from window to window, perpetually aware of the warm gaze watching his every move.

But now there was no one to watch him.

Joe was fast asleep in their bed, a furrow between his brows from where Nicolò had kissed him farewell. It would be very difficult to wake him, that man would sleep through a war if he wasn’t careful. Booker was dead to the world, his mind numbed by the alcohol and consciousness far from his grasp. Nicolò couldn’t help but wonder what Andy would think if she walked in on them now, the way she’d sigh, her lips twisting before choosing to say nothing. 

Nicolò paused beside a tombstone that had crumbled beyond recognition, the words long ago having fallen away and only the faintest engraving of a cross sitting at its head. With a sigh, he sat next to it, mindful not to touch and let his eyes drift restlessly over the darkened woods sitting just beyond the courtyard.

He thought about the young woman that glimmered in his dreams of late, thought of her smile and her eyes, so filled with life. He thought of how terrified she’d felt, choking on her own blood, feeling the life drain from her body. He thought about the single tear that had slid down her cheek when everything had begun to darken.

It had been over 200 years since they’d dreamt of Booker and now the memories were being dredged up from the murky depth of his mind. Nicolò felt his age keenly, all the years felt as though they were pressing down on his shoulders, reminding him of how far they’ve come and he didn’t dare consider how far there was to go.

Sometimes…he just felt like screaming.

He’d always been the quiet sort, even in his youth, only spoke when he felt he had something to say, something worthwhile. It was a habit he had no interest in breaking, even if Joe tried time and time again to inspire a reaction from him.

More often than not, he’d succeed.

But there had been days, days when part of him felt as though he could no longer bear the burden of immortality, that he would walk from the home they had found shelter in, walk until he could believe he was alone…and he would let it all out.

Joe had always hated that. Nicolò didn’t blame him. 

Nicolò laid back in the grass, inhaled the scent of dirt and fresh air, held up his arm and watched as goosebumps prickled his skin. It was hard sometimes, to remember that they were still human despite it all, that they were still put on the earth to appreciate its beauty. He liked to think that was why they felt pain…to remind them.

“Nicky!”

“Nicolò!”

The sound of two familiar voices shouting unexpectedly into the peace of the night, startled him into sitting up and glaring at the Sanctuary. In the light of the doorway he saw Booker, haggard in appearance, and Joe, still wiping sleep from his eyes.

He almost rolled his eyes. Almost.

Joe strode forward through the tall grass and past the stones until he was gripping Nicolò’s arm gently and tugging him up. Big, calloused hands cupped his face, earnest brown eyes searching his with an intensity that Nicolò missed on days he did not see it.

“What’s the matter?”

Of course.

Of course.

Instead of answering because he did not have the words to explain, because he did not have it in him, in that very moment to be the rock his lover knew so well, he reached a hand up and settled it on the back of Joe’s neck. He tugged the man he loved closer until their foreheads touched and both of their eyes fell closed.

This. This was the why on the days he lost his way. This was the how when he no longer knew the way forward. This was the who when he felt alone in the world.

“Yusuf,” he murmured. “Yusuf.”

His name fell from his lips like a prayer, it was just as sacred and tasted far sweeter than the first breath of life after a long death. He could say his name and never tire of it, never lose the way his stomach fluttered, and his heart swelled, barely able to contain it.

Footsteps made them break apart and when Nicolò blinked his eyes open it was to find Booker standing there, the bottle abandoned and the gun on his hip holstered. Nicolo saw the look in his eyes, that lost, helplessness and it was all he needed to reach out and grab his arm, pulling him close.

The three of them stood in the courtyard, their arms wrapped around each other, their heads bent forward, among the dead. Nicolò could not contain a smile as a sense of comfort settled over him like a blanket, one that was reflected in the eyes of his heart and his shield.

When they were together, immortality was not quite the burden it felt when all by themselves. Andy would arrive soon, their leader, and with her someone new. Nicolò could not wait to learn what she would mean to them, to invite her into their family and to watch them grow whole once more.

“Until the end,” Joe murmured.

“Until the end,” Booker echoed.

Nicolo squeezed the shoulders beneath his hands, waited until their gazes met his, until it felt like it was only the three of them in the entire world, waiting on a breath that would never come. He let his smile stretch wider.

“Until the end.”


End file.
